Friday, June 11, 2010

Friend of the OHSU Historical Collections & Archives, Norma Anderson, passed peacefully of heart failure at the age of 88, in the early morning hours of May 30.Norma was born to Norman Knox, farmer and deliveryman and Esther Clara Viola Fleischman, teacher, on July 12, 1921 in the northern climes of Minnesota. She was raised on a farm in Puposky; the nearest town was Bemidji. She was the 4th of 10 siblings. Her mother died very young of a prolonged illness and Norma left high school for two years to care for her and her younger siblings; she returned to Bemidji High School, graduating at the age of 16.

Norma knew at a very young age that she wanted to go into medicine. She thought first to become a doctor but knew the daunting challenges of entering medical school as a female student. She convinced her father, who was against college for his daughters, to send her to nurses training. She waited two years, until she was 18, to matriculate at the University Of Minnesota School of Nursing. There, she had the rare opportunity to work with polio patients alongside Sister Kenny. She received her diploma in 1942.

After graduation, Norma came to Oregon where she met her life-long love, Thomas Delbert Anderson, of Portland. Norma and Tommy had three children and enjoyed camping and fishing and many other activities. Both Tommy and Norma were from large extended families, so much of their free-time was spent in family and school activities including PTA, Scouts and 4H. Loving to dance, they took time out from their busy lives to enjoy nights out dancing and dining. After 22 years of marriage, Tommy died in a tragic car accident at the age of 52. Norma never remarried.

As a graduate of the reputable School of Nursing at UM, Norma found it easy to find work. She was employed as a nurse until she retired in1983. Though she worked at hospitals in Vancouver, Washington and Eugene, Oregon, the greatest part of her career was spent at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland. She began working at St. Vs in 1949, taking summers off until 1964 to care for her children. She held positions as head nurse, interim assistant Director of Nurses and full time night supervisor. She often said that she preferred hands on nursing to desk work. “If a patient’s light was on, I answered the call”, she would say. “The patient didn’t care whether the person getting a bed pan or an emesis basin was an aide, a nurse or a supervisor." Norma had a very successful career and delighted in telling stories of her time at St. Vincent. Many nurses, who were in training under her tuteledge, and colleagues alike, praised her calm demeanor in stressful situations and knowledgeble leadership. She was recognized as an honorary alumna of the St. Vincent Hospital School of Nursing, and proudly attended the Alumni Annual Dinners.

When she retired, she devoted much of her time to volunteer programs such as Foster Grand-Parents, Loaves and Fishes, Metropolitan Family Services and many other organizations. She also provided nursing care at various senior centers in Portland, maintaining her license for many years. She was a faithful member of Pioneer Methodist and Central Lutheran Churches and enjoyed traveling and visiting with family and friends near and far.

Norma is survived by her son Steve Anderson and daughters Karen Anderson Peterson and Kristi Anderson, 17 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren. She is also survived by 5 sisters: Cheryl McClellan, Helen Northup, Priscilla Stalker, Phyllis Dean and Elaine Shannon and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and their spouses and children.

She was predeceased by her husband in January 1972 and 4 brothers.

A memorial service will be held Saturday June 12, at 1:00 PM at Pioneer Methodist Church, 7528 N. Charleston, Portland.

The family asks that all donations be given to Providence Hospice Foundation (6410 NE Halsey St, Portland, Oregon 97213-4742) in the name of Norma E. Anderson in gratefulness for their kind care.

Norma was known for her gracious, loving and joyous spirit and she will be missed greatly by family and friends.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

For National Public Health week in 2009, we posted a list of some of the collections' holdings pertaining to the history of public health in Oregon. We happily announce the arrival of a new set of materials, and the advancement of processing of one important collection.

First, the latter: Volunteer archival processor Ji-Hyun (Kate) Kim has nearly completed the arrangement and description of the Harold T. Osterud Papers (2004-004). This is no mean feat, as the bulk of the materials were literally dumped into boxes from upended drawers. Osterud was chair of the Department of Public Health at OHSU from 1967 to 1990 and was a passionate historian of both the institution and medicine in Oregon. The collection includes both primary source materials pertaining to the department and secondary historical writings by Osterud.

Now, the new stuff: Katherine J. Riley, Ed.D., professor emerita in the Dept. of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, has taken up the mantle of departmental historian and has conducted oral interviews with several key characters, including Donald F. Austin, Beatrice K. Rose, Thomas M. Becker, Ralph Crawshaw, Michael Garland, Mitch Greenlick, William Morton, David S. Phillips, Susie Osterud (widow of Harold), and herself. The audio files for all and electronic transcripts for most of these interviews have been deposited in the archives, and are now available to researchers. Our great thanks to Dr. Riley for getting copies of this material to us for permanent retention!

Wednesday, June 09, 2010

I've been processing a lot of photographic material from the School of Dentistry vault, but the images below take today's cake. Shot in 1985 near Rethy, Congo, by Dale L. Walker, D.M.D., the photos are of a local dentist performing an extraction--sans examination chair, sterilization equipment, or anesthesia--and the tools of his craft: steel instruments with hard rubber handles and a sack to hold the (approximately) 3000 teeth he had gathered from patients. No word on the fees for this service, but if you had a cover charge for the audience...

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Several new (old) works are now rubbing shoulders with the established denizens of the historical book shelves here at OHSU. The books strengthen our holdings in neurology, cardiology, and military medicine and provide unique copies of these classic titles for researchers in the Orbis Cascade Alliance of Oregon and Washington.

The list of additions is below; links will take you out to resources with more information on the individual authors (some big names here!). The last of the receipts will soon be cataloged and available for consultation. In the interim, we're happy to answer questions about any or all. Enjoy!

Biologic and Bioprosthetic Valves / [edited] by Endre Bodnar; Magdi YacoubButterworth-Heinemann, 1986The Third International Symposium on Cardiac Bioprostheses was held May 21-23, 1985, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London under the auspices of the Cardiothoracic Institute and the National Heart Hospital, London.

Gross, Louis, 1894-1937.The Blood Supply to the Heart in Its Anatomical and Clinical Aspects. Intro. By Horst Oertel. With Twenty-Nine (29) Full Page Plates and Six (6) Text IllustrationsPaul B. Hoeber, NY, 1921.

Bramwell, Byrom, Sir, 1847-1931.Diseases of the Heart and Thoracic AortaD. Appleton & Co.,New York, 1884This book was based on portions of Bramwell's Lectures on the Principles and Practice of Medicine, and on Practical Medicine and Medical Diagnosis. The "lithographs of naked-eye objects" are, with few exceptions, the hearts of patients who were under the care of/ treated by Bramwell. Most of the "microscopical lithographs" are, also with few exceptions, taken from Bramwell's own drawings.

Jolly, Douglas Waddell.Field surgery in total war / With a foreword by Surgeon Rear-Admiral G. Gordon-Taylor.New York : Paul B. Hoeber, c1941

Monday, June 07, 2010

Today, June 7, is the 70th anniversary of the dedication of the Library/Auditorium Building in which Historical Collections & Archives makes its home. We love this old girl, so let's take a moment to look back at that day in 1940 (when, hopefully, they had a dryer June than we're having in 2010).

Seventeen dignitaries were seated on the rostrum for the dedicatory program, which kicked off at 1:30 p.m. on Friday June 7, 1940. Dean Richard B. Dillehunt was joined by Librarian Bertha Hallam; major donor Dr. John E. Weeks, M.D., and his wife, Jennie; architect Ellis Lawrence; and notables from the state system of higher education and the community. A whopping 2300 invitations had been sent out, and so a full page of instructions on "Ushering" (or what we would call "crowd control") had been crafted by business manager Ralf Couch. (These instructions called for locking several exit doors to prevent the haphazard flow of attendees out of the auditorium at the end of the program; remember that this was two years before the disastrous Cocoanut Grove Fire in Boston).

The event opened with speeches by Dean Dillehunt, OSSHE President W.L. Marks, Chancellor F.M. Hunter, University of Oregon President D.M. Erb, WPA Engineer W.A. Pierson, and Dr. Weeks. Although the auditorium had been designed with lovely acoustics, the planners had determined that "There is to be no music on the program." The attendees were then directed to exit the auditorium and assemble in the foyer. Further remarks were made by F.A. Kiehle, M.D., after which the plaque and bench dedicated to Dr. Weeks were unveiled by the "Mount twins" (Frank Mount, M.D., being the son-in-law of Dr. Weeks).

Finally, the audience was invited outside to witness the laying of the cornerstone. This activity, too, was planned in detail, and the proper authorities consulted: Facilities chief Wren Gaines had "indicated that he believes no damage will be done to the lawn for the short period it will be trampled upon incidental to laying the cornerstone." Miss Hallam had gathered materials for a box to be laid into the cornerstone, including newspaper clippings, a copy of a UO alumni publication with a history of the library and biographical sketch of W.F. Allen, a medical school catalog, an annual report, a copy of the pamphlet "Prolonging life and promoting health in Oregon," and two photos. (Most of which are probably pretty faded after moldering away for 70 years. Or maybe that's just the way I feel today, since everything seems suffused with dampness right now.)

And after all that excitement, medical school commencement exercises were held at 8:00 p.m. the same day! Way to repurpose the flowers, Mr. Couch.

The building, the cornerstone, and the weeks bench and plaque are still open to the public, should you wish to come on by today to give your wishes to the grand lady. A collection of ephemera from the event was cataloged and added to the PNW Archives Collection some time in the distant past; there are also primary source materials available in the Subject Files and in the News Articles Scrapbook Collection (Accession 2005-013) where researchers can find more information.

Happy Birthday, Old Library! You don't look a day over 68. Here's to another 70 years of sheltering scholarship and scholars.